Drinking green tea may extend life, say researchers

Drinking green tea may prolong your life, according to a recent study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (2006, vol. 296, no. 10).

For 11 years, researchers at Japan's Tohoku University evaluated more than 40,000 Japanese adults (ages 40 to 79) with no existing history of stroke, coronary heart disease, or cancer. They found green tea consumption to be inversely associated with mortality, especially mortality due to cardiovascular disease.

Women who drank five or more daily cups of green tea benefited most, decreasing their heart disease mortality risk by 31 percent compared with women who drank one cup or less per day. The men who drank the most tea also fared well, with a 22 percent reduced risk, compared with men who drank little or no tea.

Although green tea had the most dramatic effect on heart disease mortality, it appeared to reduce overall mortality risk, by 22 percent for women drinking five or more daily cups, and by 12 percent for men.